10.8watt's ACE wiki

GUIDANCE

Guidance Overview

Guidance Types

Guidance packages determine how missiles and torpedoes steer. Some use direct launcher control, others lock onto targets, and some follow a fixed position.


Dumb

No guidance

This guidance package is empty and provides no control.


Wire

Launcher-controlled guidance

Launcher reads a target position and steers the munition towards it.
WireLength = (500 × 39.37)² [≈ 500 m limit]
If missile distance from launcher exceeds the wire length, the wire snaps and TargetPos is cleared.


Laser

Line-of-sight guided

Uses launcher target position and steers the round toward that point.
Requires a clear line of sight and the target must remain inside the viewcone.
Default ViewCone = 30°.


GPS

Single-point guidance

Receives a one-time target position and guides to it regardless of line of sight.
Once a position is acquired, guidance keeps that single location until it is reached.
If the missile becomes jammed, TargetPos is cleared.


GPS Terrain-Avoidant

Low-level GPS guidance

Like GPS guidance, but stays as low as possible while moving toward the target.
Uses terrain tracing to climb over obstacles and smooth height changes.


Beam Riding

Beam-aligned guidance

Keeps the missile in line with a sighting beam or optical system so it effectively rides the beam.
This results in fast travel time and direct flight toward the beam direction.
Default ViewCone = 30°.


Radar

Active radar homing

Detects targets in front of the missile and guides toward them.
Default SeekCone = 20°, ViewCone = 70°.
Uses doppler-style filtering and ground clutter checks to confirm valid radar targets.
Minimum target distance = 10 m.


Infrared

Heat-seeking guidance

Detects hot targets in front of the missile and follows them.
Default SeekCone = 6°, ViewCone = 70°.
Requires target heat > ambient heat by a threshold.
Min distance = 200 units, Max distance ≈ 20,000 units.
Leads moving targets by estimating target velocity and time-to-impact.


Top Attack IR

High-angle heat-seeking guidance

Similar to infrared guidance, but optimized for top-attack trajectories.
SeekCone = 2°, ViewCone = 180°.
Adds an altitude offset to target position when the missile is far from its target.


Anti-Radiation

Radar emission homing

Detects active radar sources and guides the missile toward them.
Default ViewCone = 25°.
Rejects jammed or inactive emitters and requires an active radar signal.


Semi-active

Radar-guided via external trackers

Guides the missile toward targets acquired by friendly radar emitters.
Uses radar-tracked targets from allied radars rather than seeking independently.
Default SeekCone = 20°, ViewCone = 70°.


Anti-missile

Missile-intercept guidance

Detects and intercepts missile targets ahead of itself.
Targets detected in the forward cone are tracked and led using target velocity prediction.
Retains lock only while the target stays within the viewcone.


Straight Running

Torpedo gyroscopic guidance

Guides torpedoes to the depth and direction of the target position or the direction fired.
Uses a single target position or forward heading to establish torpedo path.


Acoustic Straight

Acoustic torpedo guidance

Uses underwater acoustic guidance to search for targets and steer toward them.
Combines a search pattern with depth control; target position can specify search depth only.


Acoustic Helical

Helical acoustic search guidance

Searches in a spiral pattern until the target depth is found.
Useful for airdropped torpedoes or underwater search patterns where the target position only sets depth.